Mathew Woodall, from the Kingdom Bikes Race Team, has written a sweet roundup of the Lee and Cock Hill (soon to be the Havok Bike Park) round of the Hope PMBA Enduro series:
Arriving on the Saturday morning, the carpark really gives an indication of how big the PMBA series has become over the last couple of years. It’s absolutely full to bursting point with riders fitting number boards and general rider chatter and fettling.
And the ride up to the quarry really revealed the extent of the work these guys had put in – all the tracks taped out and ready for what was to be a rad weekends racing, in perfect early summer weather.
With most of the Hope PMBA Enduro series being 1 day affairs, this round was an odd one out. Two days were needed to fit in a big loop on the moors and stages at multiple venues – so this was not going to be your average enduro. Saturday practice was a tough day; a 23 mile loop, a heatwave, 6 stages to practice – all with sections requiring multiple attempts, and a serious number of big hills to climb all served to ensure we felt like we had done a lot of riding, especially with the knowledge that we had it all to do again tomorrow!
Stage 1: The Singletrack DH is a classic stage first routed for the Singletrack weekender back in 2012. A good mix of well-used trail center at the top linked in with really fun and challenging Schladming-esque off-camber turns – then on to the lung-busting bottom section of the trail center, with an added landslide crossing just to keep you on your toes. I had heard about a landslide that had closed part of the Lee Quarry trails earlier in the year, and wondered if that would affect the event, but we just went straight through it; the closed section was opened back up for the event and it was just another technical feature to navigate.
The transition that followed would then take riders well and truly into the middle of nowhere; for the 2nd stage we would encounter the off-piste valleys of the moorland behind Whitworth Quarry. This stage, MotoMoors, was very challenging with plenty of big rocky chutes, ruts from motocrossers, and hidden rocks to punish the riders who deviate from their chosen line. There wasnt really a racing line – this stage was so open that down the little valley you could go into whichever rocky rut – or huck off whichever slab you fancied. Polished off with a few very cheeky technical climbs to keep it enduro, this was a crazy and unique stage!!
So with a little bit of a chat about every rider’s near death encounter with one rock or another. we carried on. There were some beautiful views as we rode along the side of Cowm resevoir and then up the steep grass track transition to stage 3. Dubbed “janduro” this is a real rider favourite with an amazingly flowing top section with smatterings of doubles, step downs and hips to keep the aviation fans amongst us happy. It wouldn’t be a challenging race stage without a punchy technical climb, and this one saw many riders dismount to run before charging back into the woods for an amazing final rocky rooty blast into the finish. The shortest stage of the day, perhaps – but no there was no shortage of smiles.
With every rider absolutely bouncing with excitement about the previous stage, it was now time for the business of getting all the way from Whitworth Quarry, over the top to the next two stages in Havok bike park, a gruelling climb made bearable by the 23° sun and good company of the other riders in the group. Just before dropping down into Havok bike park, it was time for a quick 5 to give our tiring legs a rest and to check out the live timing feature we had all heard so much about. As the page loaded, people around me went from “I’m not that bothered about knowing” to all huddled round the nearest smart phone to see how close you were to your riding buddy’s and to those top 10, 20 or what ever there goal was for the weekend. This feature was awesome and spurred everyone on going into the remaining stages.
Now Havok bike park [soon to be open – it’s Cock Hill’s new name – Ed] these guys have put some real effort into there trails and it shows. Stage 4, The Red was a mind bogglingly fast run through the trees filled with some good sized doubles and big bike-park berms… only with the odd greasy rock and root to try catch you out if you get carried away.
A welcome respite to the heat was welcomed as we hit the United Utilities water station and rehydrated. The sun is always welcome in England but it had been a long way over the moors with no shade to get to Havok from Stage 3.
Then onto stage 5, The Beast. This was of a slightly more natural flavour with the same rocks and roots as the last stage but in much larger quantities. This stage caught a good few riders out with its slippery rutted corners; those who survived this were then met with a nice steep loamy section, just to finish them off and give an amusing spectacle for the many hecklers and riders hanging around.
So having survived this with all limbs and bike still intact, we made the long hike over the hill and down the road back to where it all started for the final stage, which naturally enough was a tough one. If the 22 miles of riding to get here hadn’t tired your legs, the short punchy climbs and punishing head wind on the top section would finish you off. This took you into what can only be described as a tricky steep grassy chute, which dropped you into the final jump and sprint filled goodness that concluded another epic PMBA race weekend.
All that was left then was to check out final times, have a good chat about the ups and downs of the day’s racing, and in my case wait for the podium.
Results
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real effort into there trails.
*their*